Osborne kicks off Lloyds sale

The chancellor will raise up to £17bn with a public offer of discounted shares in the bailed-out lender

George Osborne: will the Lloyds sale help the Tories in the next election? (Simon Dawson)

GEORGE OSBORNE is poised to signal an early sale of shares in Lloyds Banking
Group that could raise up to £17bn for the exchequer.

The chancellor is expected to use his Mansion House speech in 10 days to
reveal the sale of the state’s 39% stake. The size of the sell-off — which
is likely to take the form of an offer of discounted shares to the public —
would be greater than any of the Thatcher government privatisations.

A share sale would mark the beginning of the end of the financial crisis,
which forced British taxpayers to bail out Northern Rock, Royal Bank of
Scotland, Bradford & Bingley and Lloyds. It could also — if the shares do
well — help the Tories’ chances at the next election.

Under the favoured scheme, voters would be offered the chance to buy the
shares at a discount to the price available to big pension funds